CCCC
Your buddy is right to not load the gun until the problem is fixed.
He has three options:
gunsmith clean/inspect/adjust
send to Remington
replace with aftermarket.
Of these three, sending it to Remington will probably be the least satisfactory-slow, expensive, and the trigger you get back will have its own issues.
I think replacing it will probably be the choice your buddy makes. People who have a bad trigger have a hard time trusting it going forward, even if logic says it is now fine. He can sell the trigger for $40, and recoup some of the cost of the replacement.
I do agree with the smiths that a proper adjustment and cleaning will probably solve the physical problem, but can do little for the trust issue.
